Formula 1 sa presunula na svoje posledné tohtoročné európske miesto pôsobenia, na talianskej Monze prešiel v prvom voľnom tréningu najrýchlejšie kolo Jenson Button.
| Pozícia | Jazdec | Tím | Čas | Strata | Kolá |
| 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1'23.693 | 28 | |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1'23.790 | 0.097 | 27 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1'23.967 | 0.274 | 25 |
| 4 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1'24.120 | 0.427 | 25 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1'24.129 | 0.436 | 30 |
| 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1'24.446 | 0.753 | 26 |
| 7 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1'24.512 | 0.819 | 19 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1'24.543 | 0.850 | 24 |
| 9 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1'24.648 | 0.955 | 22 |
| 10 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1'24.756 | 1.063 | 26 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1'24.841 | 1.148 | 28 |
| 12 | Paul Di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1'24.923 | 1.230 | 23 |
| 13 | Vitalij Petrov | Renault | 1'25.292 | 1.599 | 25 |
| 14 | Sébastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1'25.318 | 1.625 | 29 |
| 15 | Pedro de la Rosa | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1'25.320 | 1.627 | 20 |
| 16 | Kamuj Kobajaši | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1'25.334 | 1.641 | 24 |
| 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1'25.897 | 2.204 | 19 |
| 18 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1'26.772 | 3.079 | 19 |
| 19 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1'26.898 | 3.205 | 12 |
| 20 | Lucas Di Grassi | Virgin-Cosworth | 1'26.956 | 3.263 | 17 |
| 21 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | 1'27.374 | 3.681 | 14 |
| 22 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1'28.256 | 4.563 | 8 |
| 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1'28.516 | 4.823 | 4 |
| 24 | Sakon Jamamoto | HRT-Cosworth | 1'29.870 | 6.177 | 17 |
